China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres (3.7 million square miles), it is the world's second-largest state by land area and third- or fourth-largest by total area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, it exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing) and the Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau, also claiming sovereignty over Taiwan.China emerged as one of the world's earliest civilizations in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the semi-legendary Xia dynasty. Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times. In 1912, the Republic of China (ROC) replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist People's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in Beijing on 21 September 1949, while the ROC government retreated to Taiwan with its present de facto capital in Taipei. Both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory.
Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China's economy has been one of the world's fastest-growing. As of 2016, it is the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). China is also the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army and second-largest defense budget. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the BCIM and the G20. China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia, and has been characterized as a potential superpower.

Travel information

For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations..

China is located in Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam.

When you travel to China remember that the climate is extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north.

China: photos and pictures

China: numbers and facts 2018

For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations..

China is located in Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam.

When you travel to China remember that the climate is extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north.

Electrical Plug/Outlet and Voltage Informations in China

Speed Limit

Road speed limits are used in most countries to set the maximum speed at which vehicles may legally drive on particular stretches of a road. Take a look at the speed restrictions:
Within towns: 30–60
Automobiles and motorcycles (single carriageway):: 60–80
Expressways/motorways (dual carriageway): 100–120
Trucks or automobiles with a trailer: N/A
Outside built-up areas / highways: N/A

Emergency Phone Numbers

Volcanoes in China

There are 14 volcanoes in China.
The highest volcano is Kunlun Volc Group 5808 meters high.
This volcano is categorized as: Pyroclastic cone.

Name

Region

Elevation

Type

Status

Last Eruption

Arshan

China-E

Cinder cone

Radiocarbon

Hainan Dao

SE Asia

Pyroclastic cone

Historical

1900-1963

Honggeertu

China-E

1700

Scoria cone

Holocene

Jingpohu

China-E

500

Volcanic field

Radiocarbon

Holocene

Keluo Group

China-E

670

Pyroclastic cone

Holocene

Undated (probable Holocene)

Kunlun Volc Group

China-W

5808

Pyroclastic cone

Historical

1900-1963

Leizhou Bandao

SE Asia

259

Volcanic field

Holocene

Undated (probable Holocene)

Longgang Group

China-E

1000

Scoria cone

Radiocarbon

1700-1799

Tatun Group

Taiwan

1120

Stratovolcano

Pleistocene-Fumarol

Quaternary eruption

Tengchong

China-S

2865

Pyroclastic cone

Historical

1500-1699

Tianshan Volc Group

China-W

0

Volcanic field

Historical

1-1499

Turfan

China-W

0

Cone

Historical

1-1499

Unnamed

China-W

5400

Volcanic field

Holocene

Undated (probable Holocene)

Wudalianchi

China-E

597

Volcanic field

Historical

1700-1799

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